CycleBanter.com

CycleBanter.com (http://www.cyclebanter.com/index.php)
-   General (http://www.cyclebanter.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5)
-   -   AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist: (http://www.cyclebanter.com/showthread.php?t=245154)

Joy Beeson December 28th 14 04:03 AM

AG: They are aiming to miss
 

A beginning cyclist often forgets that every driver on the road is
trying to avoid running over pedestrians and bike riders.

The vast majority of drivers are nice people who get in your way only
when they try to help, and the vast majority of the people who want
cyclists off the road want them off because they want to "protect"
them.

Yes, there are psychopaths out there -- with around two hundred
million drivers in the same nation I'm in, some of them *have* to be
psychopaths. But even people who hate bicycles and fantasize about
seeing the blood of the riders splashed over the pavement are keenly
aware that the driver who splashes the blood is going to have a lot of
paperwork to fill out. The psychopath will settle for hoping someone
else kills you.

So everyone except the guy who probably wrapped himself around a tree
ten miles back is trying to avoid killing you.

MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM! Ride where you can be seen, signal your
turns, follow the rules of the road, and generally be predictable and
visible.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.




dgk December 30th 14 02:19 PM

AG: They are aiming to miss
 
On Sat, 27 Dec 2014 23:03:03 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


A beginning cyclist often forgets that every driver on the road is
trying to avoid running over pedestrians and bike riders.

The vast majority of drivers are nice people who get in your way only
when they try to help, and the vast majority of the people who want
cyclists off the road want them off because they want to "protect"
them.

Yes, there are psychopaths out there -- with around two hundred
million drivers in the same nation I'm in, some of them *have* to be
psychopaths. But even people who hate bicycles and fantasize about
seeing the blood of the riders splashed over the pavement are keenly
aware that the driver who splashes the blood is going to have a lot of
paperwork to fill out. The psychopath will settle for hoping someone
else kills you.

So everyone except the guy who probably wrapped himself around a tree
ten miles back is trying to avoid killing you.

MAKE IT EASY FOR THEM! Ride where you can be seen, signal your
turns, follow the rules of the road, and generally be predictable and
visible.


Generally true, except for the invention of texting. Get a mirror and
keep an eye out for the car drifting out of their lane behind you.

Joy Beeson January 1st 15 05:01 AM

AG: Pre-ride stretches
 
On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 15:05:05 +0000 (UTC), Andrew Chaplin
wrote:

As someone who lives on the edge of the boreal forest, I find it does not
matter where I start my warm-up, inside or out, but then I am not yet 60.


I find it's less important to get my heart going while still in the
house than it was when I was under sixty -- I no longer go out in that
kind of weather!

The problem was that if I go out into the cold sluggish, my feet will
get cold before I've worked up a sweat, and when they are cold the
body cuts the circulation to them and won't switch it back on until
they are warm, and they won't get warm until the circulation is
switched back on.

More than once I've spent a good bit of time sitting in a print shop
with my shoes off, waiting for my toes to turn pink. It was much
nicer the time I took refuge at a lunch counter, and had a mug of
cocoa while I was waiting.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.



John B. Slocomb January 1st 15 12:12 PM

AG: Pre-ride stretches
 
On Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:01:54 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Dec 2014 15:05:05 +0000 (UTC), Andrew Chaplin
wrote:

As someone who lives on the edge of the boreal forest, I find it does not
matter where I start my warm-up, inside or out, but then I am not yet 60.


I find it's less important to get my heart going while still in the
house than it was when I was under sixty -- I no longer go out in that
kind of weather!

The problem was that if I go out into the cold sluggish, my feet will
get cold before I've worked up a sweat, and when they are cold the
body cuts the circulation to them and won't switch it back on until
they are warm, and they won't get warm until the circulation is
switched back on.

More than once I've spent a good bit of time sitting in a print shop
with my shoes off, waiting for my toes to turn pink. It was much
nicer the time I took refuge at a lunch counter, and had a mug of
cocoa while I was waiting.


Your problem solved !( Ta-Ta)
http://tinyurl.com/kcamsxa
--
Cheers,

John B.

Joy Beeson January 4th 15 05:42 AM

AG: Watch your ankles
 

When dressing for cold weather, pay particular attention to insulating
your ankles. Ankles think that they are supposed to be cold, and will
happily report "Everything down here is hunky dory, boss" while they
are sending chilled blood to your beleaguered toes.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

John B. Slocomb January 4th 15 11:53 AM

AG: Watch your ankles
 
On Sun, 04 Jan 2015 00:42:53 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


When dressing for cold weather, pay particular attention to insulating
your ankles. Ankles think that they are supposed to be cold, and will
happily report "Everything down here is hunky dory, boss" while they
are sending chilled blood to your beleaguered toes.


Or move to a tropical country and worry about becoming dehydrated :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Andrew Chaplin January 4th 15 03:34 PM

AG: Watch your ankles
 
Joy Beeson wrote in
:

When dressing for cold weather, pay particular attention to insulating
your ankles. Ankles think that they are supposed to be cold, and will
happily report "Everything down here is hunky dory, boss" while they
are sending chilled blood to your beleaguered toes.


It is not a widespread problem other than for those with poor circulation.

I rarely cycle at temperatures below 0 Fahreheit (-18C), but, when I have, I
found that ski underwear and regular crew-height sweat socks were
sufficient. Boot covers are a darn good idea, too (I should invest in some).
I still haven't broken out the Lifa underwear, although I bet there will be
one or two days in early April that I will need it.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

dgk January 5th 15 02:09 PM

AG: Watch your ankles
 
On Sun, 04 Jan 2015 13:27:09 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

Joy Beeson considered Sun, 04 Jan 2015
00:42:53 -0400 the perfect time to write:


When dressing for cold weather, pay particular attention to insulating
your ankles. Ankles think that they are supposed to be cold, and will
happily report "Everything down here is hunky dory, boss" while they
are sending chilled blood to your beleaguered toes.


All joints are areas worthy of additional care in insulation during
cold weather, for the same reason that they are the positions it's
most effective to place ice to reduce a fever, and their being the
easiest places to check a person's pulse rate - the blood vessels have
to run near to the surface to avoid being trapped in the joint.
This is most significant in the extremities of hands and feet and the
joints by which they are attached, with elbows and knees not all that
far behind.
And not everyone's circulatory system is the same (just ask any
phlebotomist), so some are more susceptible to cold than others.
Of course, the same difference allows some people to shed more heat
during extreme exercise.


All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.

What I did was to buy Hotronic toe warmers, and haven't had a problem
in the seven years that I've been using them. The first pair lasted
six years and then one battery started going bad so I bought another
pair last year and they would probably last another six years except
I'm going to be moving to Florida soon so that won't be an issue
anymore.

I also have pougies for my hands, and those help, but sticking battery
powered (11.1 v) motorcycle-style grip warmers into the pougies helps
a lot.


Doc O'Leary[_19_] January 5th 15 06:38 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.


No, you have to address the fundamental circulation issue. I, too, find
it relatively easy (especially with modern clothing) to keep my core warm
enough to get sweaty, but the circulation to my extremities is still cut
off. The solution is to combat the vasoconstrictor effect directly.

My method: alcohol. I’m a non-drinker in general, but I *will* drink when
I go exercising in cold weather. Not enough to get drunk, of course, but
enough to get my circulation into the “warm” phase. I *want* to lose
extra heat at the extremities.

It’s -7F (-22C) in Minneapolis right now (worse with wind chill), and I’m
biking today. It’s not as fun as it is in warmer weather, but it was far
more miserable before I realized how alcohol could improve things.

--
"Also . . . I can kill you with my brain."
River Tam, Trash, Firefly



dgk January 6th 15 04:01 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Mon, 5 Jan 2015 17:38:06 +0000 (UTC), Doc O'Leary
wrote:

For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.


No, you have to address the fundamental circulation issue. I, too, find
it relatively easy (especially with modern clothing) to keep my core warm
enough to get sweaty, but the circulation to my extremities is still cut
off. The solution is to combat the vasoconstrictor effect directly.

My method: alcohol. Im a non-drinker in general, but I *will* drink when
I go exercising in cold weather. Not enough to get drunk, of course, but
enough to get my circulation into the warm phase. I *want* to lose
extra heat at the extremities.

Its -7F (-22C) in Minneapolis right now (worse with wind chill), and Im
biking today. Its not as fun as it is in warmer weather, but it was far
more miserable before I realized how alcohol could improve things.


Now that is an interesting approach. I'm not sure that I want to drink
any alcohol and drive down NYC streets, but a fine suggestion.

Doc O'Leary[_19_] January 6th 15 04:59 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

Now that is an interesting approach. I'm not sure that I want to drink
any alcohol and drive down NYC streets, but a fine suggestion.


Keep in mind, the purpose is not to get drunk or impaired in any way. I
don’t know if that is easier for me to do because I don’t do much drinking
in the first place, or if the reverse is the case since I’m a
“lightweight”. All I know is that if I take a half-drink worth of alcohol
15-30 minutes before I go into the cold, and continue to consume
1 drink/hour (roughly matching the rate it metabolizes) when I’m active,
it seems to normalize my body heat distribution. If you think trying it
out when biking is too risky, give it a shot (ha!) when you have other
outdoor activities like shoveling to do.

--
"Also . . . I can kill you with my brain."
River Tam, Trash, Firefly



dgk January 7th 15 04:00 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:21:28 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

Doc O'Leary considered Mon, 5 Jan
2015 17:38:06 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write:

For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.


No, you have to address the fundamental circulation issue. I, too, find
it relatively easy (especially with modern clothing) to keep my core warm
enough to get sweaty, but the circulation to my extremities is still cut
off. The solution is to combat the vasoconstrictor effect directly.

My method: alcohol. Im a non-drinker in general, but I *will* drink when
I go exercising in cold weather. Not enough to get drunk, of course, but
enough to get my circulation into the warm phase. I *want* to lose
extra heat at the extremities.

Its -7F (-22C) in Minneapolis right now (worse with wind chill), and Im
biking today. Its not as fun as it is in warmer weather, but it was far
more miserable before I realized how alcohol could improve things.


A slightly less controversial alternative to alcohol might be a mild
blood thinner, like aspirin 75mg (best taken with a snack, to avoid
stomach irritation).
Of course, if you prefer natural products, you could achieve the same
thing by chewing a bit of willow bark (which is what aspirin was
originally derived from), but it's VERY bitter, and controlling the
dose would be difficult.


I always kind of wondered about that. I knew that asprin came from
bark, but how many people went around chewing bark from various trees
until they found one that had the desired effect? And since it takes a
while to work, they could only chew one tree at a time until
sufficient time had passed to know whether it worked or not.

John B. Slocomb January 8th 15 01:47 AM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Wed, 07 Jan 2015 10:00:49 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:21:28 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

Doc O'Leary considered Mon, 5 Jan
2015 17:38:06 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write:

For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.

No, you have to address the fundamental circulation issue. I, too, find
it relatively easy (especially with modern clothing) to keep my core warm
enough to get sweaty, but the circulation to my extremities is still cut
off. The solution is to combat the vasoconstrictor effect directly.

My method: alcohol. Im a non-drinker in general, but I *will* drink when
I go exercising in cold weather. Not enough to get drunk, of course, but
enough to get my circulation into the warm phase. I *want* to lose
extra heat at the extremities.

Its -7F (-22C) in Minneapolis right now (worse with wind chill), and Im
biking today. Its not as fun as it is in warmer weather, but it was far
more miserable before I realized how alcohol could improve things.


A slightly less controversial alternative to alcohol might be a mild
blood thinner, like aspirin 75mg (best taken with a snack, to avoid
stomach irritation).
Of course, if you prefer natural products, you could achieve the same
thing by chewing a bit of willow bark (which is what aspirin was
originally derived from), but it's VERY bitter, and controlling the
dose would be difficult.


I always kind of wondered about that. I knew that asprin came from
bark, but how many people went around chewing bark from various trees
until they found one that had the desired effect? And since it takes a
while to work, they could only chew one tree at a time until
sufficient time had passed to know whether it worked or not.


I've seen "dried willow bark" for sale in a Chinese apothecary shop. I
believe it is used as a "tea".
--
Cheers,

John B.

John B. Slocomb January 8th 15 11:36 AM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:58:20 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

John B. Slocomb considered Thu, 08 Jan 2015
07:47:25 +0700 the perfect time to write:

On Wed, 07 Jan 2015 10:00:49 -0500, dgk wrote:

On Tue, 06 Jan 2015 20:21:28 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

Doc O'Leary considered Mon, 5 Jan
2015 17:38:06 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write:

For your reference, records indicate that
dgk wrote:

All interesting points. I complained about having cold toes and
fingers on bike forums and get told that I need to keep the core warm.
The core is warm and even sweating but the hands and toes freeze. So I
just figure that I have crappy circulation there, but maybe keeping
the ankles warmer would help.

No, you have to address the fundamental circulation issue. I, too, find
it relatively easy (especially with modern clothing) to keep my core warm
enough to get sweaty, but the circulation to my extremities is still cut
off. The solution is to combat the vasoconstrictor effect directly.

My method: alcohol. Im a non-drinker in general, but I *will* drink when
I go exercising in cold weather. Not enough to get drunk, of course, but
enough to get my circulation into the warm phase. I *want* to lose
extra heat at the extremities.

Its -7F (-22C) in Minneapolis right now (worse with wind chill), and Im
biking today. Its not as fun as it is in warmer weather, but it was far
more miserable before I realized how alcohol could improve things.

A slightly less controversial alternative to alcohol might be a mild
blood thinner, like aspirin 75mg (best taken with a snack, to avoid
stomach irritation).
Of course, if you prefer natural products, you could achieve the same
thing by chewing a bit of willow bark (which is what aspirin was
originally derived from), but it's VERY bitter, and controlling the
dose would be difficult.

I always kind of wondered about that. I knew that asprin came from
bark, but how many people went around chewing bark from various trees
until they found one that had the desired effect? And since it takes a
while to work, they could only chew one tree at a time until
sufficient time had passed to know whether it worked or not.


I've seen "dried willow bark" for sale in a Chinese apothecary shop. I
believe it is used as a "tea".


And once things like that are in regular use, people tend to notice
the effects.

I'm sure that in pre-history, some knowledge of that kind was actively
sought though. The real shame is how little of it we've retained.


I've seen willow bark tea mentioned in different countries so I'd
guess that it was pretty well known. But why bother with collecting
bark, carefully drying it and making tea when Bayer made all the
preparation redundant :-) But many herbal remedies were synthesized
and are use today. Foxglove, for example, (digitalis) was used in the
1700's to treat heart problems. Plain old charcoal was used for upset
stomachs, probably since pre-historic times, in fact I use it
occasionally, but I buy it in the store rather than chopping up my
wife's cooking fuel.
--
Cheers,

John B.

Doc O'Leary[_19_] January 8th 15 05:17 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
For your reference, records indicate that
John B. Slocomb wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:58:20 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

I'm sure that in pre-history, some knowledge of that kind was actively
sought though. The real shame is how little of it we've retained.


I've seen willow bark tea mentioned in different countries so I'd
guess that it was pretty well known. But why bother with collecting
bark, carefully drying it and making tea when Bayer made all the
preparation redundant


Not just redundant, but inherently *scientific*. A lot of the reason why
we haven’t retained past “knowledge” is that it got rigorously tested
and was found to be bunk. Some less educated people still believe some
of the past non-sense, though, and you’ll still see things like rhino
horn being used for something a more worldly person would know to buy
Viagra for.

Regardless, in the cold weather biking/exertion front, I will continue
to consume moderate, measured amounts of alcohol when it dips below a
tolerable temperature (around 20F/-7C for me). I may add aspirin to
the process, but I don’t know how much a blood thinner actually does to
improve circulation. I mean, I *feel* the flush that is brought on by
alcohol; I have never felt that after taking an aspirin.

--
"Also . . . I can kill you with my brain."
River Tam, Trash, Firefly



mac[_3_] January 8th 15 11:15 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On the subject of bark teas, anyone heard of quinine as muscle cramp
preventitive?

Frank Krygowski[_4_] January 8th 15 11:21 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On 1/8/2015 5:15 PM, mac wrote:
On the subject of bark teas, anyone heard of quinine as muscle cramp
preventitive?

Heard of it. Haven't tried it.


--
- Frank Krygowski

John B. Slocomb January 9th 15 01:41 AM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Thu, 8 Jan 2015 22:15:29 +0000 (UTC), mac
wrote:

On the subject of bark teas, anyone heard of quinine as muscle cramp
preventitive?


Quinine is a muscle relaxer and yes, can be used to prevent muscle
cramps however it may have serious side effects.For night muscle
cramps you might try magnesium tablets which work for some people and
doesn't seem to have severe side effects.
--
Cheers,

John B.

John B. Slocomb January 9th 15 01:47 AM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Thu, 8 Jan 2015 16:17:18 +0000 (UTC), Doc O'Leary
wrote:

For your reference, records indicate that
John B. Slocomb wrote:

On Thu, 08 Jan 2015 06:58:20 +0000, Phil W Lee
wrote:

I'm sure that in pre-history, some knowledge of that kind was actively
sought though. The real shame is how little of it we've retained.


I've seen willow bark tea mentioned in different countries so I'd
guess that it was pretty well known. But why bother with collecting
bark, carefully drying it and making tea when Bayer made all the
preparation redundant


Not just redundant, but inherently *scientific*. A lot of the reason why
we havent retained past knowledge is that it got rigorously tested
and was found to be bunk. Some less educated people still believe some
of the past non-sense, though, and youll still see things like rhino
horn being used for something a more worldly person would know to buy
Viagra for.


You are saying that the Chinese have been taking powdered rhino horn
for at least two thousand years and no one has discovered that it
doesn't work?

--
Cheers,

John B.

Doc O'Leary[_19_] January 9th 15 04:38 AM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
For your reference, records indicate that
John B. Slocomb wrote:

You are saying that the Chinese have been taking powdered rhino horn
for at least two thousand years and no one has discovered that it
doesn't work?


Actually, it turns out that my suggested use is a misconception:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoce..._trade_and_use

Regardless, *many* people have discovered that it doesn’t work as a
medicine. Just not the ones who take it, I assume, who may themselves be
ignorant of the placebo effect. If only they were homeopaths, too, the
rhinos would be doing a lot better in the wild.

--
"Also . . . I can kill you with my brain."
River Tam, Trash, Firefly



John B. Slocomb January 9th 15 01:05 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
On Fri, 9 Jan 2015 03:38:44 +0000 (UTC), Doc O'Leary
wrote:

For your reference, records indicate that
John B. Slocomb wrote:

You are saying that the Chinese have been taking powdered rhino horn
for at least two thousand years and no one has discovered that it
doesn't work?


Actually, it turns out that my suggested use is a misconception:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoce..._trade_and_use

Regardless, *many* people have discovered that it doesnt work as a
medicine. Just not the ones who take it, I assume, who may themselves be
ignorant of the placebo effect. If only they were homeopaths, too, the
rhinos would be doing a lot better in the wild.


Regardless of how it is used, for some 2,000 years people have been
buying the stuff. Do you really believe that all those peoples -
millions I would guess over 2,000 years - bought it and it did
nothing?

--
Cheers,

John B.

Doc O'Leary[_19_] January 9th 15 04:36 PM

Raise your glass ( AG: Watch your ankles)
 
For your reference, records indicate that
John B. Slocomb wrote:

On Fri, 9 Jan 2015 03:38:44 +0000 (UTC), Doc O'Leary
wrote:

Regardless, *many* people have discovered that it doesn’t work as a
medicine. Just not the ones who take it, I assume, who may themselves be
ignorant of the placebo effect. If only they were homeopaths, too, the
rhinos would be doing a lot better in the wild.


Regardless of how it is used, for some 2,000 years people have been
buying the stuff. Do you really believe that all those peoples -
millions I would guess over 2,000 years - bought it and it did
nothing?


Yes. Knowing what we know now, it is quite clear how pre-scientific
humans could (and still can) be fooled into putting their faith in
things that don’t actually do anything, or sometimes are outright
dangerous. To believe otherwise is to set yourself up to be scammed
by the next bit of quackery that comes along.

--
"Also . . . I can kill you with my brain."
River Tam, Trash, Firefly



Joy Beeson January 12th 15 03:26 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 

A thin plastic sheet over one's shoe makes one's foot strikingly
warmer. Just slide the foot into a bread bag, then pull a wool gaiter
on to hold the bag in place.

Of course, one does need a fresh bag for the trip back -- or maybe in
the middle, if you put your foot down a lot. Nobody eats that much
bread, but I've found that the orange bags that my newspaper comes in
work perfectly, and a summer's worth lasts all winter. In a pinch,
one can buy a box of gallon-size twist-tie bags. For wide bags, one
needs the sort of gaiter that comes down over the foot.

When we wore slot cleats, the cleat would snip a hole in the bag in
exactly the right place. I doubt that this would work with the
more-complicated cleats now in fashion, but I've no idea what to do
instead -- my pedals never wore out {replaceable bearings, you know},
so I still wear slot cleats. (In the summer. Winters, I wear walking
shoes.)

I've used bags to keep my socks dry when wearing sandals in snowy
weather. In this case, pull the bag over your heavy socks, then pull
knee-hose over the bags to keep them in place. The thinner and less
absorbent the hose, the better, so buy the very cheapest. They do
come in black.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.



Frank Krygowski[_4_] January 12th 15 06:24 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On 1/11/2015 9:26 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:

A thin plastic sheet over one's shoe makes one's foot strikingly
warmer. Just slide the foot into a bread bag, then pull a wool gaiter
on to hold the bag in place.

Of course, one does need a fresh bag for the trip back -- or maybe in
the middle, if you put your foot down a lot. Nobody eats that much
bread, but I've found that the orange bags that my newspaper comes in
work perfectly, and a summer's worth lasts all winter. In a pinch,
one can buy a box of gallon-size twist-tie bags. For wide bags, one
needs the sort of gaiter that comes down over the foot.

When we wore slot cleats, the cleat would snip a hole in the bag in
exactly the right place. I doubt that this would work with the
more-complicated cleats now in fashion, but I've no idea what to do
instead -- my pedals never wore out {replaceable bearings, you know},
so I still wear slot cleats. (In the summer. Winters, I wear walking
shoes.)

I've used bags to keep my socks dry when wearing sandals in snowy
weather. In this case, pull the bag over your heavy socks, then pull
knee-hose over the bags to keep them in place. The thinner and less
absorbent the hose, the better, so buy the very cheapest. They do
come in black.


I agree, with one detail: I always have one pair of socks underneath
the plastic bags. Works for me!

--
- Frank Krygowski

John B. Slocomb January 12th 15 12:58 PM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 22:26:25 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


A thin plastic sheet over one's shoe makes one's foot strikingly
warmer. Just slide the foot into a bread bag, then pull a wool gaiter
on to hold the bag in place.

Of course, one does need a fresh bag for the trip back -- or maybe in
the middle, if you put your foot down a lot. Nobody eats that much
bread, but I've found that the orange bags that my newspaper comes in
work perfectly, and a summer's worth lasts all winter. In a pinch,
one can buy a box of gallon-size twist-tie bags. For wide bags, one
needs the sort of gaiter that comes down over the foot.

Why not put the bag on over the sock and then foot, sock and bag, into
the shoe?
I've done something similar in heavy rain and it worked for an hour or
so till I got home.

When we wore slot cleats, the cleat would snip a hole in the bag in
exactly the right place. I doubt that this would work with the
more-complicated cleats now in fashion, but I've no idea what to do
instead -- my pedals never wore out {replaceable bearings, you know},
so I still wear slot cleats. (In the summer. Winters, I wear walking
shoes.)

I've used bags to keep my socks dry when wearing sandals in snowy
weather. In this case, pull the bag over your heavy socks, then pull
knee-hose over the bags to keep them in place. The thinner and less
absorbent the hose, the better, so buy the very cheapest. They do
come in black.


Ah, I didn't read this before I posted the above :-)
But why sandals in the snow?

--
Cheers,

John B.

Joy Beeson January 13th 15 05:51 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

But why sandals in the snow?


My feet are wider at the toe than at the heel, so wearing shoes isn't
always an option, and I wouldn't dream of attempting to drive a car
wearing boots.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net

John B. Slocomb January 13th 15 11:44 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 00:51:54 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

But why sandals in the snow?


My feet are wider at the toe than at the heel, so wearing shoes isn't
always an option, and I wouldn't dream of attempting to drive a car
wearing boots.


I don't think that wider at the toe than the heel is abnormal, is it?

As for driving shoes, you sound like my wife :-) She has a special
pair of sandals just to drive the car. Says her regular shoes "don't
feel comfortable".

( But, of course she's never seen snow either :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Duane[_3_] January 13th 15 02:17 PM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On 12/01/2015 11:51 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

But why sandals in the snow?


My feet are wider at the toe than at the heel, so wearing shoes isn't
always an option, and I wouldn't dream of attempting to drive a car
wearing boots.


In Qubec most people have to deal with driving a car wearing boots - at
least for 7 or 8 months per year.

John B. Slocomb January 14th 15 02:30 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 08:17:33 -0500, Duane
wrote:

On 12/01/2015 11:51 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

But why sandals in the snow?


My feet are wider at the toe than at the heel, so wearing shoes isn't
always an option, and I wouldn't dream of attempting to drive a car
wearing boots.


In Qubec most people have to deal with driving a car wearing boots - at
least for 7 or 8 months per year.


Perhaps because I wore "brogans" for the better part of the 20 years I
spent in the air force I can drive with "boots" on.
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brogan

I include the reference as I discovered that "brogan" is not the name
of a specific item of foot wear, as I had thought, but means a number
of different things. It is even a bloke's name :-)

I even found a site attributed to "Successful Writer", and entitled
"Exploring the use and misuse of words" that discussed the term and
displayed a picture of what he referred to as a "brogan", referring to
it as an "Air Force Brogan". It makes me wonder as when I served the
word "brogan" was listed in the supply catalog as a very specific shoe
style which described an ankle high work shoe. The picture was a calf
high thing that the Air force termed as a "Boot" in my day :-)

I guess it is true, as I have read, that English is a language that is
still evolving. Perhaps it is a reason for the very evolved
(convoluted?) discussions that we sometime have in these "bicycle"
sites :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Joy Beeson January 14th 15 04:23 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

Why not put the bag on over the sock and then foot, sock and bag, into
the shoe?


Same reason I don't put my windbreaker on under my jersey. The
bread-bag trick is for times when you have to wear summer shoes in the
winter; if you buy a special shoe large enough to wear over thick
socks, it might as well be one without ventilation holes.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net



John B. Slocomb January 14th 15 12:26 PM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:23:57 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

Why not put the bag on over the sock and then foot, sock and bag, into
the shoe?


Same reason I don't put my windbreaker on under my jersey. The
bread-bag trick is for times when you have to wear summer shoes in the
winter; if you buy a special shoe large enough to wear over thick
socks, it might as well be one without ventilation holes.


Joy, if you buy some big burly boots to stomp around in the snow you
probably don't want any ventilation holes :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Duane[_3_] January 14th 15 03:27 PM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On 14/01/2015 6:26 AM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:23:57 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Mon, 12 Jan 2015 18:58:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote:

Why not put the bag on over the sock and then foot, sock and bag, into
the shoe?


Same reason I don't put my windbreaker on under my jersey. The
bread-bag trick is for times when you have to wear summer shoes in the
winter; if you buy a special shoe large enough to wear over thick
socks, it might as well be one without ventilation holes.


Joy, if you buy some big burly boots to stomp around in the snow you
probably don't want any ventilation holes :-)



Ah, perhaps I missed the first part of this thread. If we're talking
about cycling shoes with vents causing problems in the winter, what I
usually do is wear the bootie things which cover the vents on top of the
shoe. Then you can use a different sole insert to block the holes under
the shoe, like a Dr. Scholl's liner etc.

Joy Beeson January 17th 15 05:13 AM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:27:40 -0500, Duane
wrote:

Ah, perhaps I missed the first part of this thread. If we're talking
about cycling shoes with vents causing problems in the winter, what I
usually do is wear the bootie things which cover the vents on top of the
shoe. Then you can use a different sole insert to block the holes under
the shoe, like a Dr. Scholl's liner etc.


I didn't like the first pair of booties I bought, so there was never
another. (I don't recall seeing any for sale, come to think of it.)
Now that we have on-line shopping, I probably could find decent
booties -- but now that I no longer live on a state road, there are
hardly any cold days when it's safe for old ladies to go out -- the
plastic bags are less trouble than hunting down and keeping track of
booties. (And there's something to be said for disposing of one's
shoe covers after every ride.)

I wonder whether they still make the toe covers that attach to toe
straps? Those worked quite well. If you could find a pair that fit.

Footnote: it wasn't just any state road. I lived across from the
county garage where the snowplows and the emergency dispatcher hung
out, between the state snowplow garage and the town snowplow garage, a
few doors from a sheriff's substation, and among two schools, two
firehouses, and an ambulance bay. If my road wasn't clean, nobody was
going anywhere.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

Joy Beeson January 18th 15 04:11 AM

AG: Winter Hydration
 

You don't need as much water in the winter as in the summer, but it's
at least as important to get enough. Dehydration lowers your heat
production, and low blood volume reduces your ability to distribute
heat.

It's much harder to remember to keep sipping a half-frozen beverage
than it is to remember to sip often when you are sweating like a
faucet, so dehydration may actually be more likely in cold weather.

Filling the bottle with a boiling beverage sounds like a good idea --
but before the beverage is cool enough to be safe to sip, the valve
freezes and you can't get at it.

Carry only one bottle in winter; a second bottle will freeze before
you finish the first one. If there are no refilling stops, carry the
extra in your pannier, well wrapped. Starting with hot water can
help. I've found Rubbermaid's square quart bottles good for carrying
water and ice in the summer; I can no longer ride far enough to need
back-up water in the winter, so I haven't tested them for carrying
warm drinks. A large container from which you re-fill your bottle
will freeze less than spare bottles, and you don't have to worry about
frozen valves.

Be sure the bottle is tipped up when you drink, so that ice floats
away from the valve. Don't squeeze the bottle or suck on it; any ice
near the valve will be carried into it. Blow air into the bottle and
let the water flow out This moves ice away from the valve and may
melt a molecule of ice.

Drink frequently to keep the valve open.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.




Duane[_3_] January 19th 15 04:11 PM

AG: The bread-bag trick
 
On 16/01/2015 11:13 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Wed, 14 Jan 2015 09:27:40 -0500, Duane
wrote:

Ah, perhaps I missed the first part of this thread. If we're talking
about cycling shoes with vents causing problems in the winter, what I
usually do is wear the bootie things which cover the vents on top of the
shoe. Then you can use a different sole insert to block the holes under
the shoe, like a Dr. Scholl's liner etc.


I didn't like the first pair of booties I bought, so there was never
another. (I don't recall seeing any for sale, come to think of it.)
Now that we have on-line shopping, I probably could find decent
booties -- but now that I no longer live on a state road, there are
hardly any cold days when it's safe for old ladies to go out -- the
plastic bags are less trouble than hunting down and keeping track of
booties. (And there's something to be said for disposing of one's
shoe covers after every ride.)

I wonder whether they still make the toe covers that attach to toe
straps? Those worked quite well. If you could find a pair that fit.

Footnote: it wasn't just any state road. I lived across from the
county garage where the snowplows and the emergency dispatcher hung
out, between the state snowplow garage and the town snowplow garage, a
few doors from a sheriff's substation, and among two schools, two
firehouses, and an ambulance bay. If my road wasn't clean, nobody was
going anywhere.



I don't know if they still make the covers that attach to toe straps but
they do make the toe covers that slide over the front of your shoes. I
use these when it's not too cold as the booties tend to be too warm,
even on cold days.

Joy Beeson January 25th 15 07:36 PM

AG: Winter Hills
 

Don't charge hills in winter. If you try to climb without slowing
down, you'll get all sweaty and then freeze when you are coasting down
the other side.

When climbing a hill, you are out of the wind and generating heat --
make it last! Shift down, and pedal just hard enough to keep warm.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.


dgk January 28th 15 02:25 PM

AG: Winter Hills
 
On Sun, 25 Jan 2015 14:36:05 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:


Don't charge hills in winter. If you try to climb without slowing
down, you'll get all sweaty and then freeze when you are coasting down
the other side.

When climbing a hill, you are out of the wind and generating heat --
make it last! Shift down, and pedal just hard enough to keep warm.


Or move to Florida. No hills, no winter. There is wind though.

Joy Beeson January 29th 15 01:25 AM

AG: Winter Hills
 
On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 08:25:48 -0500, dgk wrote:

Or move to Florida. No hills, no winter. There is wind though.


And deep, deep sand.

Or there was in the late fifties.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net

John B. Slocomb January 29th 15 12:54 PM

AG: Winter Hills
 
On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 20:25:45 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 08:25:48 -0500, dgk wrote:

Or move to Florida. No hills, no winter. There is wind though.


And deep, deep sand.

Or there was in the late fifties.


I was there in the early 1950's and they had made sort of wide paths
with a black looking stuff that were pretty smooth and kept you from
sinking in the sand :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

Duane[_3_] January 29th 15 02:26 PM

AG: Winter Hills
 
On 29/01/2015 6:54 AM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 20:25:45 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote:

On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 08:25:48 -0500, dgk wrote:

Or move to Florida. No hills, no winter. There is wind though.


And deep, deep sand.

Or there was in the late fifties.


I was there in the early 1950's and they had made sort of wide paths
with a black looking stuff that were pretty smooth and kept you from
sinking in the sand :-)


Until the wind blows the sand from the beach over those paths.


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:38 AM.
Home - Home - Home - Home - Home

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
CycleBanter.com